If zombies actually existed, an attack by them would lead to thecollapse of civilisation unless dealt with quickly andaggressively.

That is the conclusion of a mathematical exercise carried out byresearchers in Canada.

and

Even so, their analysis revealed that a strategy of capturing orcuring the zombies would only put off the inevitable.In their scientific paper, the authors conclude that humanity'sonly hope is to "hit them [the undead] hard and hit them often".

-- Amanda Ashby's untitled middle-grade series about a girl who accidentally gets turned into a djinn (genie) the day before starting sixth grade and has to learn to deal with her new powers without her mom finding out, to Karen Chaplin at Puffin, in a three-book deal, by Jenny Bent at The Bent Agency (world English).

The three books will be coming out between 2011 and 2012 and I also have another young adult book coming out in 2011 so it looks like I'm going to be a busy writer!!!!

-- Writing about the conflictions that come with being a teenager isn't about guessing, or staying up on the latest trends or slang, it's about being honest with yourself and exploring those same feelings that we tend to ignore as adults. It's being an adult that allows you as a writer to temper those emotions with experience, turning them into something more meaningful than reality television regurgitation. Or, that's the idea anyway.

-- Seven Star Pictures has picked up the movie rights for The Forest of Hands and Teeth but it's still too early to tell if they'll develop it into a movie. As Publishers Weekly reports, "Supposedly Seven Star is developing the project for an-as-yet-unnamed A-list starlet, and fast-tracking the project with a first draft of the screenplay already in the works."

Is there a sequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth?

--Yes, The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first of three books. The second, The Dead-Tossed Waves will be coming out in Spring 2010 and the third will be out Spring 2011.

Q: Did you worry that no one would believe that a girl would not notice her boyfriend was a zombie?

--Oh, sure. I thought "that's okay for a song, but how could she not know? Is she stupid?" I really wanted her to be smart. I don't like writing books about stupid people. So the way it works is that Doug, the zombie, wasn't dead long enough to decompose much before he became a zombie. He just looks about like a regular, sincere goth guy who has some weird health issues. There are plenty of clues, but you can ignore a lot of things about someone you like. And that becomes a theme of the book - obviously you have to overlook flaws in any boyfriend or girlfriend, but where you do draw the line? At finding out they're dead? At having to die yourself?

-- Yes! There will be a third book in the Generation Dead series (and a fourth and a fifth, if I have my way). The third book will be called Passing Strange. I'm working hard on it as we speak to try and get it in shape for a May release, and as usual I'm making things far harder on myself than usual. But I love the story and I hope you will, too. I don't like to show my cards early, but I will tell you that a different character takes center stage for this one...

Were you a goth in high school?

-- I can't say I was straight up goth, although one of my favorite albums at the time was the Damned's Phantasmagoria, which is cited by many as being one of the main albums that started the movement. I had all the rare Bauhaus singles, too.

But I think instead that I was an almost perfect blend of the five personality types from The Breakfast Club. Well, I was more Basket Case than Princess, and more brain than jock, and not much of a criminal although I did sport fingerless gloves and a trenchcoat and listened to Slayer. Maybe it was more 30%, 10%, 25%, 20%, 25%. Although I really didn't do anything princess-y, except I was a little spoiled.

When I was growing up I was good at sports. A jock. I also read a lot. An intellectual. I had the incredible good fortune of being able to run in several circles, although I could never seem to bring my various circles of friends together. In fact, my two best friends--one a jock, the other an intellectual--at times told me they hated the other. I attempt to explore the idea of bringing various cliques together in Never Slow Dance With A Zombie. Flash forward: Those two hating friends are now the BEST OF FRIENDS. I LOVE that! I also love teasing them about how much they used to hate each other.

The Present

I am very happy with my life right now. I write full time at home. I never thought I'd enjoy not going to the office but I love it. I work out in the morning, and then I write. My big daily challenge is figuring out what to do for dinner before my wife gets home. No, I don't cook. But I have become quite adept at calling restaurants for take out.

The Future

I'd love to be more conversant in French and Italian... Okay, conversant in French and Italian. My foreign language skills are the equivalent of hunt and peck. I need to find the time to master a language besides Klingon... Oh, wait! I haven't mastered that either.